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“No, he was good. Look, let’s figure out where to go. I’ll tell you, but... not here. Not now.”
Carlos put both the bat and the golf club under one arm and pulled his phone from his jeans pocket. He hit a contact and held the phone to his ear. “Manny? Yeah, it’s me. I need your help. But you can’t tell anyone. I’m serious, bro.”
Xavier let his head fall forward, his pulse beginning to slow as he listened to Carlos’s end of the conversation. Manny was Carlos’s oldest brother. He and Xavier had never been close, but he was a nice guy. Too nice to be dragged into this mess, too.
Part of Xavier wanted to tell Carlos no. That they’d find another place to hide. Then again, he didn’t have a better idea, so he stayed quiet.
Carlos ended the call. “Manny’s on his way. He won’t ask questions. He won’t tell our mama or yours.”
“Thank you.” Xavier gave in and leaned his head on Carlos’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t let you do this, but I’m too scared to think right now.”
Carlos rubbed the top of Xavier’s head fondly. “It’ll be okay, X. We’ll figure it out.”
“No, I’ll figure it out, and then I’ll get out of your hair. I’m not dragging you into this.”
The set of Carlos’s jaw said that they’d debate the issue later. “Manny’s meeting us on the highway.”
Xavier stared at his friend. “That’s a mile away.”
“I know. But if this guy didn’t die, we don’t want him to see us driving away with Manny. We’ll stick to the shadows and hope we don’t step on any snakes.”
Xavier shuddered. “Fuck you, Carlos.”
Unbelievably, Carlos chuckled. “But now you’re not scared of tall, dark, and deadly back there. Come on. You got a little more running in you. I know it.”
He set off at a slow jog and Xavier had no choice but to flip the safety back on the gun, shove it into his waistband, and follow. He certainly didn’t want to be seen running with a gun in his hand. The cops wouldn’t even hesitate before shooting him.
I don’t want to die.
Twelve agonizing minutes later, they could see the highway. Just a couple minutes after that, a rusted-out Dodge Charger pulled onto the shoulder and slowed to a stop. Xavier let out a quiet sigh of relief. That was Manny’s old junker. Looking both ways, Carlos made a run for it, out of the shadows and into the back seat of the old car.
Xavier followed once again, grateful that Carlos could think fast on his feet. When the door was closed, Manny carefully pulled back onto the main road again.
“I’m not supposed to ask any questions,” Manny said, his voice gruff as always. He sounded like he smoked three packs a day, but Xavier didn’t think he did. If he did, he’d been smoking like that for as long as Xavier had known Carlos, because he’d always sounded like that. “But what am I looking for? In case we’re followed?”
“I don’t know,” Xavier said. It could be cops, if Rocky’s suspicions were correct. “A blue Camry was watching my house. A guy broke in and tried to grab me when we were going out the upstairs window.”
Manny glanced up into the rearview. “You don’t know why?”
“I...” Xavier swallowed. “I’m not sure. I need to make a phone call. You don’t have to put yourself in danger, Manny. If you want to let me out somewhere, that’s okay.”
Manny made a rude noise. “Don’t be stupid, X. You’re Carlos’s best friend. Of course I’m gonna help you.”
“Thank you. My God, thank you.”
“Make your call,” Manny said kindly.
Xavier took out his phone and blew out a breath. Then reconsidered. “I shouldn’t call from my cell phone. Maybe I shouldn’t even have my cell phone.”
Manny glanced into the rearview mirror again. “Ooookay. Here.” He tossed a flip phone over the seat. “It’s a burner.”
Carlos frowned. “Why do you have a burner phone, Manny?”
“Because my hours at the store got cut, and I can’t afford a plan,” he said brusquely, like he was embarrassed by the admission. He, along with dozens of others, had been laid off the year before when the factory where he worked had lost a big contract. Now he was working at the gas station’s convenience store, and that didn’t sound like it was going well, either. Xavier hadn’t realized Manny’s finances were so tight. “Got that phone at Walmart and I pay as I go. Use it to make your call, Xavier, then take the SIM card out of your phone and power it down.”
Xavier stared at Manny’s phone for a long moment, his brain abruptly spiraling as his adrenaline began to crash. He’d shot a man. He’d shot a man.
Oh my God. What if I killed him? What if he’s bleeding out in my mama’s spare room right now? What if he was a cop? A white cop. Oh my God. What if I killed a white cop?
